Hand in Hand
by inkwriter22
Summary: A day at the beach takes a surprise turn of events. One Shot for the Kataang Raid!We are the KATAANG RAIDERS!


HELLO! THIS IS FOR THE KATAANG RAID! JOIN THE RAID IF YOU WANT SOME MORE KATAANG!

It had only been a year since the defeat of Firelord Ozai and the end of the century long war. Now, Ozai lay in his prison cell away from the rest of the world, Azula stayed in a mental facility, and the Era of Love and Peace had finally begun.

In the past year, Firelord Zuko and his girlfriend Mai, traveled throughout the Earth Kingdom, restoring peace to the nation. Meanwhile the rest of Team Avatar, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph, had stuck together. They travelled to each other's homes, and all the while helped heal the scars left on the World after the war. Now the whole gaang gathered in Ember Island, to celebrate a year of peace and love.

A light breeze flew through the island. The Sun shined heavily on the ground and white sand below, and the blue waves washed the shore. All the elements combined to make the perfect summer day.

Ember Island was the ideal vacation spot. The laughter of children could be heard throughout the beach, and kites soared in the air. The tropical birds rested on top of the tall Palm Trees, and the weather was unlike any other place in the world; always sunny, warm, and perfect for the beach.

Aang gave out a huge yawn as he sat up in his bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. The view was amazing. The ocean was a beautiful shade of blue that matched the sky so well, and the air smelled of sea water and lilies.

The house the gaang was staying at, ironically used to belong to the once Firelord Ozai. But that was long time ago. The last time the gaang had stayed there was before the war even ended.

"Wow." Aang stated. "I can't believe it's already been a year." He said to himself.

Aang had grown a lot in the past year. He had sprouted a few inches and his voice began to deepen a little. His muscles began to grow and what used to be a frail body frame was replaced by a more masculine figure. His eyes had also begun to become less childish. He was turning into quite the charming young man.

"Aang?" a sweet voice said from behind his bedroom door.

Aang walked over the door and cheerfully opened it. "Good morning Katara!" Aang hugged his watertribe girlfriend.

"Hey, I'm glad you're up!" she smiled as she returned the hug. "Listen, I was thinking…Sokka and Suki are going into town for the whole day, Mai and Zuko and visiting some of their friends, and Toph is going to some earthbending show. And I was wondering if maybe, since we are a couple now, we couple spend the day together or something…yah." Katara blushed.

"I'd love that! We hardly ever get to be alone anymore." Aang said. "It's pretty hot today, what do you want to do."

"I was thinking we could spend the day at the beach." Katara still hugged her boyfriend.

"That sounds like fun." Aang parted from Katara and pecked her on the cheek.

After the two had a small breakfast it was time to hit the beach. The couple walked down hand in hand to the beach with smiled on their faces. They had their own little private beach so they were the only two there. Aang spread a towel down on the sandy surface.

"My lady." He said as he gestured to the towel. Katara giggled.

"That's very sweet of you Avatar Aang. However, I think I want to go for a little….swim" Katara said flirtatiously. However she stared to walk away from the water.

"Um…Katara?" Aang raised his eyebrow. "The water is, you know, that way." He said pointing to the blue sea.

"I know, I'll be right back." Katara said before disappearing into the forest of palm trees.

Aang sighed. He sat down on the sand after a few minutes of waiting for Katara. He let the sand fall through his fingers. The sound of the ocean hitting the shore was so calming. Aang let himself drift into space as he waited.

"AANG!" Aang jolted out of his daydream at the sound of panic and stood in a battle stance. Then he heard laughing.

"Aang! Up here!" He followed the sound of Katara's voice. Then he noticed she was standing on top of a high cliff.

"Katara! Are you crazy?" He yelled.

"Maybe!" she laughed before jumping of the cliff and diving into the ocean bellow. Aang waited for a moment, hoping she was okay.

Katara popped her head out of the water, still laughing. She swam back the shore and sat on the towel, laughing hysterically.

"Aang that was awesome! You have to try it."

"You could have gotten hurt!" Aang said sternly. Katara stopped laughing for a moment.

Then the two burst into hysteric laughing.

"Come on Aang, it's so fun! You can ride giant fish but can't jump of a tall rock?" Katara teased.

Aang was about to protest but she had a point. "Okay, let's go!" he said cheerfully.

Katara grabbed his hand and pulled him through the palm tree forest and to the top of the cliff. She was still laughing very hard.

Katara walked to the edge of the cliff. She held her hand out for Aang to take.

"You coming?" she asked. Aang smiled and grabbed her girlfriends hand.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded.

The two started the countdown "1….2….3!"

On three the two jumped off the cliff. It was a quick fall. But they could feel the rush of the wind past their ears and they briefly saw the water coming closer before they were under.

Aang reached the surface and started laughing. But something was wrong. Katara's hand was no longer attached to his. He looked around in panic. She was nowhere to be seen.

"KATARA!" He called out. Then he saw her.

She was caught in the waves, passed out. She was very close to getting smashed against the rocks. Aang swam as fast as he could to his girlfriend. She was just about to go under when Aang grabbed her wrist and held her close to his chest. Her head feel back like she was asleep.

Aang rushed to the shore, but it seemed like time was running out. It seemed like it took forever to just reach the ground. Aang pulled katara just out of the water and onto the sand. She laid still , not moving at all.

"Katara, can you hear me!" he asked in panic. "Katara! Open your eyes! Come on!" He was about to cry.

He checked to see if she was breathing. She was not. He tilted her head back and began CPR on his girlfriend. He tried to give all the air had. He pushed on her chest asking for life.

"Come on Katara!"Aang cried. "Don't leave me now! I love you!"

Suddenly Katara coughed up a lot of liquid. She closed her eyes tightly and rolled to her side getting out all the liquid in her throat. She coughed a lot before rolling back over.

She found Aang's hopeful eyes looking down into her own.

"Katara." He said.

"Ever hear of waterbending Mr. Avatar?" she said coldly yet jokingly.

He let out a fake but relived giggle. "Oops. I kinda forgot about bending. Sorry. I'm just glad that you're okay." He smiled.

Aang had his head hanging over Katara's body, blocking the sunlight. The two were silent for a moment. Katara placed her shaking hand up to Aang's heavy breathing face. Then as if on cue, the two leaned forward slowly; embracing each other with the most passionate kiss they have ever shared.

They let each other explore their mouths with their tongues. There was a perfect balance. The moment was perfect.

The kiss sent a tingly sensation down each other's entire body. They held onto each other tighter and closer as the kiss progressed. Katara let her hands wonder to his muscled arms and abs and Aang let his hand caress her smooth arms, face, and waist. The kiss was sweet and aggressive at the same time. It was powerful yet light at the same time.

They sat in the same spot on the sand for a long time, enjoying the feeling of each other's lips on theirs. Soon though, the long kiss began to linger into short sweet kissing, though the feelings stayed the same.

They separated after a while trying to find the will to breathe. Katara looked deeply into Aang's smoky eyes trying to show him all her passion. Aang looked deeply into her aqua eyes sending all his love.

"I love you too." Katara smiled through her heavy breathing.

Aang smiled, remembering that he told her he loved her while he was trying to save her. Although they had dated for a year, and it was quite obvious that they loved each other, they never said it until now.

"I love you." Aang smiled.

"I love you." Katara said too.

They hugged tightly for a moment. They got up from the sand and held each other's hands. They were both shaking erratically.

"We are never jumping of the cliff again. Okay?" Aang said.

Katara nodded. Suddenly though she had tears in her eyes. She began to sob. She pressed her here against Aang's chest. Aang was stunned for a moment, but he tried to comfort her by wrapping his arms around her body. Katara kept crying into his chest. She cried very hard.

"Aang, I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying. I think it's because I'm so happy, but so scared at the same time."

Aang nodded. "Well, you almost drowned, that is pretty scary"

Katara gave him a questionable look. "No, I'm not scared about that. I'm so happy that we love each other and that I have you. But that's what makes me scared. I'm afraid to lose you now.

"Oh." Aang frowned. The he released Katara for a moment. He placed his hands firmly on Katara's arms and looked her directly in the eyes. She looked at him with awe. "Listen Katara, I love you so much, and I don't want you to be scared. You'll always have me. I promise." Aang said surely.

Katara smiled. All the feelings of doubt and fright disappeared. "And you'll always have me. I promise." Katara said.

They hugged one last time before leaving all their stuff at the beach and walking back to their vacation home, hand in hand.

The End.


End file.
